


Change of Heart

by Casey_Tyler



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, s2e03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-29 18:22:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6387517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Casey_Tyler/pseuds/Casey_Tyler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I hope you crash! And I hope you have a heart attack while crashing!"<br/>What if Ellie Miller's words had come true?</p><p>(Alternate scene for the beginning of Season 2 Episode 03)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Change of Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic for Broadchurch, so I hope everyone is in-character. 
> 
> I'm American, **NOT** British, so I apologize if I got any British slang, phrases, or words wrong.

# Change of Heart

The sun had barely risen an hour ago, but it was already warming up the air and drying the dew from the grass. Ellie Miller stood at the edge of the field for a minute, drinking in the beautiful morning. Sunrises were one of the many things she missed about Broadchurch. She used to get up early and drink her tea on the back patio before jumping into the day. The magnificent view had always cheered her. Today, though, it only served as a reminder of the life she had lost six months ago. Broadchurch was no longer her home -- a fact Beth Latimer was only too willing to point out. Ellie didn't blame Beth. She blamed Joe for what he had done, and she blamed herself for not seeing the truth before it was too late. Maybe some day she could come back to Broadchurch and get her life sorted out. Today wasn't that day, though.

With a sigh, she pulled herself out of her gloomy, early-morning reverie and turned back towards the road. That was when she remembered that she didn't have a car to drive home with. She should probably ring Hardy and demand that he bring her car back, but she really wasn't in the mood to listen to his grumpy complaints right now. Instead, she decided to simply hire a cab; she could deal with retrieving her own vehicle later. As she pulled out her mobile, she noticed that she had a missed call from a number she didn't recognize. Curious, she hit the callback button and waited for the other end to pick up.

"Hello, Broadchurch Hospital," a woman receptionist's voice answered. "How can I help you?"

"Um," Ellie hesitated, not sure why a hospital was trying to get in touch with her. Maybe they had dialed her number by mistake? To be on the safe side, she asked, "This is Ellie Miller. Were you trying to contact me earlier?"

"One moment please," the receptionist said before placing her on hold. A moment later, she was back on the line. "Yes, we were trying to get in touch with you regarding an automobile accident. The vehicle was registered to your name."

Ellie drew in a breath and tried to remain calm. "Yes," she told the receptionist, "I lent my car to a friend and they haven't returned yet." There was little doubt in her mind what had happened, but she felt the need to ask anyway, "Was anyone injured?"

"There were no other vehicles involved in the accident, but the driver is being kept here for now. If you could come in and help us get some things sorted out for the paperwork, we'd really appreciate it."

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes," Ellie said before hanging up.

She rang for a taxi and, thankfully, it arrived only a few minutes later. The entire way to the hospital, Ellie couldn't figure out whether she was more worried about Hardy's health or angry with him for getting into that situation in the first place. She couldn't help feeling a twinge of guilt as well. She shouldn't have let him have her car keys, but there had been too much going on at the time and her concern was focused on trying to help Beth. Besides, he knew that he wasn't supposed to be driving. Why couldn't he ever follow the rules? He was the most impossible man Ellie had ever met.

With a cringe, she remembered the last words she'd said to him before he'd stormed out of the house. _"I hope you crash. And I hope you have a heart attack while crashing!"_ Of course she hadn't meant it. They'd both been angry and they'd both said some very hurtful things. To be fair, he had been acting like a jerk and had completely deserved everything she'd said. That didn't take away any of the guilt she was feeling, though. And it was just her kind of luck that this was the one time Alec Hardy actually did something she told him to. 

The taxi finally arrived at Broadchurch Hospital and Ellie quickly paid the driver before hurrying through the doors to A&E. The receptionist at the desk paged a doctor who took Ellie to a quiet corner of the waiting room to talk.

"Thank you for coming in," the doctor said with a tired smile. Given the time of morning, Ellie guessed she was probably part of the night shift. "My name is Dr. Lea Darren. Are you any relation to Mr. Hardy?"

"He's my--" Ellie paused, not quite sure how to sum up their odd relationship. Finally, she settled on saying, "He used to be my boss."

"Oh, so you're friends?"

"I wouldn't quite classify him as a friend," Ellie said, frowning slightly. "Actually, I _definitely_ wouldn't classify him as a friend. But he borrowed my car last night and I haven't heard from him since then. Is he alright?"

"Not exactly," Dr. Darren said. She sat down in one of the waiting room chairs and motioned for Ellie to take a seat as well. "Are you aware of his heart condition?"

Ellie nodded. "Heart arrhythmia. I was the one who brought him in the last time he had an attack and the doctors gave me the basic details. Something about an unsteady heart beat?"

"Yes, basically his heart is incapable of maintaining a steady rhythm. Any kind of physical exertion or emotional stress can set it off. Frankly, he shouldn't even be driving."

"He knows," Ellie muttered in frustration. "He's never been one for listening to others."

The doctor smiled knowingly. "Yes, I've certainly gotten that impression. Anyway, his heart went into ventricular fibrillation while he was driving. Thankfully, the car swerved off into a ditch and no other vehicles were involved. He's very lucky that he didn't hit a tree or an oncoming vehicle. I don't think he fully realizes how serious his condition is, though. If that other driver hadn't seen the accident and rang for an ambulance immediately, he wouldn't be alive right now."

"But he's okay now?"

"Well, he's stabilized," Dr. Darren said slowly. "We'd like to keep him for observation a little while longer, but he finally woke up a few minutes ago and he's already decided to sign himself out as soon as we get the test results back." 

"Is that safe?"

"Definitely not. On the other hand, it's not like we weren't expecting it. He's never been one to stay in a hospital any longer than he can help it." With an irritated sigh, she added, "What he really needs is to get that surgery scheduled. But every time I try to remind him about it, he refuses to even discuss the idea. The nurses are practically running bets on how long he'll keep delaying it. Unfortunately, if he waits much longer, it won't even be worth discussing at all. The surgery can't help if he lets his heart deteriorate too much in the meantime." She paused, and Ellie easily recognized the expression on the young doctor's face; that was the same expression used by anyone who'd ever had the misfortune of running into Alec Hardy. After a moment, Dr. Darren continued, "I'm sorry we had to drag you here at this hour, but we didn't know who else to contact. Like I said, he didn't wake up until just a few minutes ago and we were trying get in touch with anyone who might know of any family members we should inform. For some reason, our records don't list any emergency contacts." 

"That's alright, I was already out of the house at the time," Ellie assured her. "I wouldn't have been much help, though. I'm sorry, but I don't actually know very much about his family. I know he has a wife and daughter in Sandbrook, but I don't know their names. And, from what I understand, there's a bit of complicated history there, so there might be a reason they aren't listed as emergency contacts."

"Well, we'll look into it anyway. Thank you. Would you like to see him now?"

Ellie nodded and the doctor led her down a long hallway. She motioned towards one of the doors before heading back to the waiting room.

One of the first things Ellie noticed upon entering was that this was a private hospital room; she assumed that was to keep any other patients from having to put up with Hardy. She came further into the room and sat down in a chair beside the bed. He was sleeping at the moment and Ellie found it a bit unsettling how lifeless he looked. If possible, he actually looked even more pale and worn out than he usually did. His tall, skinny frame barely fit the length of the bed, and there were numerous monitors and IVs hooked up to him. His shallow breathing and the unsteady beeping of the heart monitor didn't help to allay her uneasy feeling. A moment after Ellie sat down, Hardy stirred and his eyes came slowly open, blinking a few times before focusing on Ellie.

"Millah?" he asked. Ellie had noticed before that his Scottish accent always became even harder to understand when he was tired or upset. "What're ya doin' here?"

"Hospital rang me at dawn to inform me that you destroyed my car. You owe me for the damage, by the way."

"Wouldn't have been drivin' it if ya'd come with," he muttered.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable! Would it kill you to blame someone other than me for a change? I was dealing with a crises of my own at the time, not that you'd care. And it wasn't as if it was my idea to have the meeting at that house in the first place. You could have at least had the decency to ask how I felt about being back there again after-- after everything that had happened. Seriously, Alec, don't you ever take other people's feelings into consideration?"

"Don't call me Alec," he warned.

"Right, I forgot," she said, feeling her frustration get the better of her. "Because you can't deal with anything as civil as using first names or greeting people politely or actually having a _real_ conversation with anyone. You've been living for a full year in one of the smallest and friendliest towns in all of Dorset, yet you haven't made even a single friend among the entire town's population. You can't accept a favor without grumbling about it and you can't even say a simple 'hello' once in a while. And let's not even mention the fact that my life is falling apart around me and instead of even one word of sympathy, you drag me all over England on some wild goose chase. You insult me and take advantage of me and never once say 'thank you' for all the help I've given you." She paused and took a deep breath, trying to regain control of her anger. It wasn't like he would listen, anyway, and she really didn't need the added frustration right now.

After a moment, Hardy looked away and mumbled, "'M sorry."

Ellie blinked. Did he just apologize? Before she could respond, he continued in a quiet voice.

"Shouldn't have yelled at ya, either. Wasn't yer fault Ashworth got away."

"Did the doctors give you drugs?"

"Some," he said, eyeing her warily, "Why?"

"Because you're being polite to me. Figured that would have to be the reason."

"Oi, 'm just tryin' to apologize. No need to be attackin' me."

Ellie only partially succeeded in hiding her grin. After a moment or two of silence, she asked, "Why are you checking yourself out today? The doctor said you should stay in for another day."

Hardy grunted. "Heard that before. Don't need to stay longer. 'M fine."

"No, you're sick," Ellie said firmly. "And you keep letting yourself get sicker. You aren't supposed to exert yourself, you can't keep getting worked up, and you _definitely_ shouldn't be driving. And the more you keep doing reckless things, the less chance you have of actually making it through this alive. Why don't you just go through with the stupid surgery and get this over with?"

"Can't," Hardy said quietly. "Not 'til Ashworth is in jail. I need to finish the case before I go for the surgery."

"Why?" Ellie demanded.

"Just hafta."

"No," Ellie said, growing impatient. "After everything that you've put me through, I at least deserve a decent answer. Why must you wait until the case is over?"

"'Cause the doctors said-- they said I might not make it through the surgery. It's a risky procedure and they don't think I've got a very good chance."

Ellie looked at him in surprise. He'd never told her that part before. "But don't you also run a huge risk of your heart failing the longer you put off the operation?" she argued. "Get the surgery first and finish this business afterwards. What's the point in being able to solve this case if you end up dead in the end? Don't you want to be able to walk away from this in one piece?"

He covered his eyes with the arm that wasn't attached to the IV machines and mumbled an unintelligible response.

"What'd you say?"

With a slight groan of protest, he repeated his statement a bit louder, "I said 'What's the point?'" Lowering his arm slightly, he looked her in the eye for the first time during their conversation, and Ellie was surprised to see how much anger, sadness, and depression were buried inside. "What 'm I supposed to walk away from this case _towards_? Don't have a home or family anymore. Can't go back to Sandbrook; 'm not welcome here. Only thing I had left was my job, and now I can't even do that anymore 'cause of this stupid heart condition."

Ellie was a bit thrown by his comments and it took her a moment to respond. "That's ridiculous. What about your daughter? She still needs you; how do you think she'll feel if you just run yourself into the ground."

"Doubt she'd care at this point. Hasn't answered any of my calls in two years, or my texts. Haven't even seen her since the Sandbrook trial. Doesn't want anythin' to do with me."

"Of course not," Ellie said, a bit roughly. "How do you expect her to feel? She thinks you're guilty. You have to tell her the truth about the Sandbrook case."

Hardy turned and looked at her in surprise. "How did--?"

"Olly told me. Maggie decided not to print that story because you made her feel guilty about it, so Olly complained to me about it. He was sure that it would have been the story of the year."

"Figures," Hardy grunted. Ellie knew he disliked her nephew, but she'd never been completely sure why.

"Personally," she said, "I think that was a stupid move on your part. Why on earth did you let them blame you for that mess?"

"Had to protect Tess and Daisy," he said quietly. "Didn't want our daughter to know the truth about that night. Would've hurt her too much. Would've destroyed Tess's career as well."

"As well it should have. It was her fault."

"I was SIO on the case. It was my responsibility--"

Frustrated, Ellie didn't even bother waiting for him to finish that thought. Cutting him off, she said, "That's nonsense. You took the fall for something that wasn't your fault, and now you have to deal with the consequences. But you can't let that prevent you from being there for your daughter. Do you really want things to end like this between the two of you? You need to get the surgery and then go visit her and _tell her the truth_." 

He didn't answer right away and Ellie took a moment to get control over her thoughts. It frustrated her seeing Hardy this defeated. It wasn't like him. Or, it didn't used to be like him, anyway. She realized something now that she hadn't even noticed before. He was much less energetic now than he used to be, and he always seemed to be down. Back when they'd been working together on the Latimer case, he'd been irritable, sick, and closed off from everyone, but he'd also been driven towards finding Danny's killer. That energy and determination weren't quite there anymore. Whatever had happened to him during the six months since they'd last worked together, he wasn't the same; he was worn down and giving up. And now he was letting this investigation literally kill him.

It was obvious this case meant much more to him than she had originally assumed. Ellie had thought of it as a lost cause from the start -- trying to catch a murderer when the trail was two years old, all clues were long gone, and one of the bodies hadn't even been found. There was a very great chance that all their efforts would prove to be a colossal waste of time. Still, it wasn't like either of them really had much else to do with their lives at the moment. Ellie's entire world collapsed six months ago and the idea of getting things back in order didn't look too promising at the moment, at least not until the trial was over. And, as he'd so bluntly pointed out, Hardy's own life had fallen apart two years ago when the Sandbrook case went down in flames. As much as Ellie hated to admit it, this investigation was the only thing holding them together through this mess. But it shouldn't be that way. They both had something else to cling to -- someone who really needed them, even if they didn't see it yet. Daisy and Tom needed their parents to be strong for them. And Ellie realized that that was a goal they could both use to pull themselves out of this storm.

As if he could read her thoughts, he suddenly asked, "Have ya talked to Tom lately?"

Ellie shook her head, tears threatening to form in her eyes. "Tried ringing him again last night. Still wouldn't talk to me, though." She tried not to let her voice betray the hurt she was feeling inside, but it was hard. She missed her son so much.

"Keep tryin', Miller," he said. "He'll come 'round. Just give him time."

She couldn't help smiling sadly. "Yeah, you should follow some of your own advice. Daisy might just need time, too."

"Oi, no turnin' my words against me," he grumbled. "'Sides, I haven't given up yet. 'M just running outta time, though." As if to emphasize his point, the heart monitor suddenly started beeping even more erratically than before. Hardy shot a glare in its direction and then chose to ignore it. "Wanna thank ya, Miller," he said gruffly. "For helpin' me with this case. Shoulda said it before."

"If you really want to thank me," Ellie said quietly, "you'll think about what I said. Think about Daisy and how much you really want to make things right between you. And let that help you decide whether or not to postpone your surgery any longer." She stood up and grabbed her purse off the arm of the chair. Before leaving, she added, "Just promise to think about it, okay?"

"Maybe," he muttered noncommittally. He glanced at the expression on her face and finally relented, "Ach, alright. 'M not promising anythin', but I will think about it."

With a smile, she turned and headed out the door. Hardy watched her through the window as she walked through the parking lot and disappeared in the general direction of the bus stop. He was still staring out the window, lost in thought, when the nurse entered the room.

"If you're still determined to leave against your doctor's advice, you'll have to sign these papers," the nurse said, holding out a folder with various forms.

Hardy looked at the folder and then glanced back out the window. After a minute, he finally took the papers and began signing them. Without looking up from the forms, he said, "Tell Dr. Darren 'm ready to schedule that surgery."

The nurse stared at him in complete shock. "What?"

"Y'heard me," he snapped at her. "Go get Dr. Darren and tell her 'm ready to schedule the procedure. 'N' hurry up, or I'll be gone before ya get back here."

Knowing him well enough to know that it wasn't an idle threat, the nurse did the smart thing and rushed out to find the doctor.

A few minutes later, Dr. Lea Darren was heading towards his room with a folder full of the necessary paperwork tucked under her arm. She was feeling both happy and relieved that he'd finally agreed to the surgery, but she couldn't help wondering what had finally convinced him to change his mind. She had a strong suspicion that Ellie Miller -- his former employee and not-quite-friend -- had something to do with his change of heart.

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't help wondering while watching the second season why Alec suddenly decided to go for the surgery despite delaying it for so long before that. So I came up with this AU version where Ellie is the one who convinces him what a mistake he's been making. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Thank you so much for reading.


End file.
